HSBC bank server grows legs and walks off

Humphrey Cheung, 12th May 2008

Hong Kong (China) – Why hack into a server when you can simply steal the damn thing. This is exactly what happened to a Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation (HSBC) server containing 159,000 customer accounts, after it went missing during a branch office rennovation.

HSBC says the server went missing on April 26th and some customers are angry about the bank waiting two weeks to notify affected customers. In an official statement, HSBC says the server contained account numbers, names and transaction amounts, but added that there were no pin numbers, passwords or user ids. Humorously, HSBC also said, “HSBC takes customer data privacy and security very seriously.”

“Multiple layers of security” protect the data and the bank is confident that there is a very low chance that the account data will be compromised. Customers will still be able to access their accounts and money because the data was backed up to HSBC’s central servers.

While HSBC says the server is merely missing, the Chinese police believe it was stolen.